Fate Is A Fickle Thing
by Ellana-san
Summary: When there is only one seat left on a plane what do you do? Argue with the handsome stranger who wants it, of course.
1. Chapter 1

_This story has been sitting on my computer for months ^^ Akachankami asked me for a "no room left on the plane so we're fighting for the same seat" AU and as usual with me it grew laaaarge._

 _I'm setting this story as complete but I also put it in a new story instead of in HADS because in my head, there is a next part but I don't have time to write it right now so this is a maybe someday._

 _ **Fate Is A Fickle Thing**_

"What do you mean I can't take that plane?" Effie scowled, her usual poise and good education threatening to fail her faced with the dense woman behind the counter. "I booked my flight two weeks ago."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." the woman repeated for the fifth time. "That plane is cancelled. There is a plane leaving for Richmond tomorrow morning."

"I need to _be_ in Virginia tomorrow morning hence why I booked a flight _tonight."_ she hissed, ignoring the annoyed grumbling coming from behind her.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." the woman repeated.

"You being sorry won't help me get to Virginia in time for…"

She was rudely interrupted by the man behind her.

"Listen, lady, she says she can't do anything. What do you think she's going to do? Have a special plane set up just for you?" the guy snapped. She turned around and glared. He had grey eyes, dirty blond hair that was much too long and unstyled, stubble that covered his chin and jaw, clothes that clearly had seen better days and his breath stank of whiskey…

"Did anyone ask for your opinion?" she huffed. "Don't you know it's rude to intrude in other people's conversation?"

"Don't you know it's rude to keep everyone waiting because you're throwing a bitch fit like a spoiled little brat?" he deadpanned.

He might have had a point but she wasn't ready to concede defeat all the more so when everyone in a two feet radius was looking curiously at the scene they were causing.

The woman behind the counter cleared her throat. "Ma'am, do you want to book a ticket? There is only one seat left…"

"What?" the guy exclaimed, his anger quickly switching target. "No way. I need that ticket. _I_ need to be in Virginia tomorrow."

"Oh, now who is throwing a fit?" Effie mocked, batting her eyelashes at him with delight. She turned back to the attendant. "I assume the plane lands in Richmond but I'm actually going a little further away. In a charming little town, they called it the Seam, you may have heard of it… Anyway, at what time is the plane supposed to land?"

"You're going to the Seam too?" The man made a face. "You're _not_ taking that plane, sweetheart. That seat is mine."

"Excuse me, I was there _before_ you." she argued. "And I still don't know the details of the flights. You are _not_ an efficient employee."

Said employee looked ready to tear her hair off her head. "I suggest you two step aside and decide who gets the ticket. _Next_!"

"Absolutely not!" Effie screamed at the same time the guy shouted. "I need that ticket!"

But the next person in line had already stepped up and they were roughly pushed aside.

"How rude!" she scoffed, almost toppling over in her high heels. "Well, there is nothing to decide in my opinion. I was there first. I get the ticket."

"You are a real bitch, aren't you?" he sneered. "Look, my kid is waiting for me to show up tomorrow morning, I'm going to show up tomorrow morning, so whatever business trip you're on will have to wait."

"I am not on any business trip, I am actually going to visit family and I refuse to disappoint my nephew." she retorted. "There is a very important event I need to attend and…"

"I'm not asking for your life story, sweetheart." he cut her off.

"I am _not_ your sweetheart !" she snapped.

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure!" he taunted. "I bet you haven't been anyone's sweetheart in a long time, it would explain the giant stick in your ass."

"How _vulgar_." she declared before turning back to the woman behind the counter, swiftly stepping in before her next customer could and ignoring the resulting protest. "Excuse me, I will take the ticket."

"No, she won't." the man said.

"The gentleman who just left bought the last ticket." the woman declared with a professional smile that barely hid the hint of glee at annoying them.

For a second, Effie stared and then she saw red. "Is this a joke?"

"You're kidding me?!" the stranger exclaimed at the same time.

"There are no more planes leaving for Virginia until early afternoon tomorrow." the woman said, after checking her computer. "I suggest you rent a car. It's only a two hours drive to Richmond and a four hours drive to the Seam. I would hurry too because rental cars are usually disappearing like flies at this time of night."

Effie checked her watch : it was midnight, a four hours drive wasn't appealing but neither was disappointing her nephew. With a sigh, she resigned herself to traveling the slow way. The guy was already gone and she hurried in the direction of the rental agency, afraid that since it was obviously not her lucky day, there would be only one car left and the horrid man would beat her to it.

Her fears were unfounded. There were several cars waiting there and a very helpful boy ready to assist her. She spotted her scruffy stranger at the other end of the store, clearly he was having less luck than her.

"I can't rent you a car, sir, you're drunk." the other sales assistant said.

"I'm not _drunk_. I had _two_ glasses." the guy argued.

The young man who took care of her apologized for the scene and handed her papers to sign. By the time she had filled everything and she was handed keys, the guy had disappeared but she overheard him on the phone as she was walking to her car.

"No. Listen, kid, I _tried_ , there's no flight before noon." He paused long enough to draw a breath and run a shaky hand in his hair. "I tried, I can't drive." Another pause and, this time, he winced. "No, I'm not _drunk_. I just had two drinks. You know I hate flying. Come on, sweetheart, don't be like that. Yeah, I know your mom isn't coming. Yeah, I… Look, I know I promised, I didn't want to miss your engagement either, I… Hello? Girl?" He looked at his phone in dismay and kicked a nearby car in anger. That was when he realized she was standing there, looking. "What do _you_ want?"

The man was horrid, drunk and he clearly had a temper. Truly, she ought to have left him where he stood.

She tilted her head and pursed her lips, reminding herself of how many times her manners had brought her nothing but trouble.

"You can travel with me." she sighed, already regretting it. "You shouldn't miss your daughter's engagement. I'm sorry, I overheard."

He hesitated for a moment and then a look of pure relief washed on his face.

"I could _kiss_ you." he breathed out, not wasting a second in flinging his luggage on the back seat of the car. In case she changed her mind, she supposed.

"A _thank you_ would be more than sufficient." She fought to keep a grin off her lips. "My name is Effie Trinket."

She outstretched a hand. He shook it briefly, with enough strength that her poor fingers almost got crushed in the process.

"Haymitch." he offered.

She lifted an eyebrow and settled behind the wheel, leaving him to sit in the passenger seat. "Haymitch without a last name?"

"Abernathy." He rolled his eyes. "You're a cop or something?"

It was less taunting than earlier and much more teasing so she decided not to throw a fuss.

"Did anyone ever tell you you are awfully ill-behaved?" she asked, because not throwing a fuss didn't mean she would forgive such a breach in manners.

"Did anyone ever tell you you're awfully uptight?" he retorted.

They weren't even out of the parking lot yet. It would be a _long_ drive. Never mind the fact that it was late and she was tired. She had planned to sleep on the plane to be fresh and rested the next day.

"At what time is your daughter engagement supposed to start?" She was fishing for a safe subject and she figured men liked to talk about their daughters.

"It's a dinner thing but she wanted me there in the morning to meet the guy's family, without all the fuss, you know." he shrugged and then added as an afterthought. "She's not my daughter. She's my kid but not my daughter. It's kind of complicated."

"Oh, I understand perfectly." she hummed. "I'm very close to my nephew. He's engaged too, that's actually why I am going down to Virginia, to meet his bride. How fantastic? A wedding, can you imagine?"

"You're from the Seam?" he frowned, giving her _a look_ \- the very same kind of look everyone in Virginia always gave her : the look of loathing that people only reserved for richer people.

"Obviously not." she replied. "I am from Richmond."

"Yeah, thought so." he snorted. "You look like a rich Daddy girl."

"And you look like a homeless drunk." she hissed. "Do I judge you based on your looks? No, so I will thank you to grant me the same courtesy."

She was barely reaching the highway. This was going to be a nightmare.

"Too bad, I was also going to say you were hot for an uptight bitch." he smirked.

The smirk only widened when she sputtered in horror.

"You can't say things like that to a lady! It's improper!" she rebuked him. "Not to mention I could leave you by the side of the road and then what would you do?"

"Wait for the next hot lady to stop and take pity on me." he shrugged. "And probably get an arrow in my eye when I finally get my ass to the Seam. My girl's an archery champion, never misses her target."

There was so much pride in his voice her annoyance receded a little.

"So, you often take hitchhikers?" he asked. "'Cause I've gotta tell you, sweetheart, you don't look very strong and I'm twice your size. 'Doesn't sound real clever to invite me in."

"You are assuming again." she said. "Who says I am not skilled at hand to hand combat?"

"Are you?" he mocked.

"No." she granted. "But perhaps I have a gun in my purse."

"Sure, you do." he humored her.

The banter wasn't so terrible and it made for a nice distraction. She found herself grinning like a fool at some times and being irritated out of her mind at others – his ten minutes laugh when he heard she actually worked in the fashion field had vexed her greatly.

The first two hours of driving flashed by quickly enough. Time fled when you were bickering and she and Haymitch never seemed to run out of subjects to disagree upon.

The real problems started once they had reached Richmond and he assured her he knew a shortcut that would be quicker than the highway. He had grown up around there, she was tired and there were two hours left to drive… She didn't think anything of it when she followed his directions.

Until she found herself stirring the car on the same road for the third time in one hour.

"We are lost." she declared, pulling over and turning off the engine. She was sleepy, they hadn't seen another car in at least two hours, and she hoped the rental came with a map.

"No we're not." he grumbled. "I told you to take right at the crossroad."

"I took right. I took right the three times we ended up there." she hissed.

He stared at her. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, either from lack of sleep or because of the tremors in his fingers he was trying to hide from her. He had taken a few mouthfuls from a flask when he had thought she wasn't looking. It didn't take a genius to understand he had an alcohol addiction problem.

"Then we're lost." he shrugged.

"Oh, for the love of…" She stopped herself in time. A lady didn't curse, after all.

She wriggled to reach her purse on the backseat – which accidentally made her press her chest against his arm and she tried _very much_ not to mind how small the car seemed to be now that they weren't moving.

"Looking for your imaginary gun?" he joked. His voice was rougher as if he, too, had just realized just how close they were sitting. _Spacious,_ the man from the rental agency had said, clearly they needed to think again. Or maybe Haymitch was just thinking she might truly have a gun and was really considering murdering him on a back road of Virginia. He looked paranoid enough.

"Perhaps." She gritted her teeth. "You certainly would have it coming." She finally found her phone in her cluttered bag. "I have no signal." Which meant no GPS either…

He checked his own phone and shook his head. A search of the glove box didn't reveal any map.

She chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "I suppose we can either drive at random until you recognize something or we can wait for a car to pass by so we can ask for directions."

"Sweetheart, it's pitch black and it's the middle of the night." He rolled his eyes. "I won't recognize _shit_ and nobody is going to drive around here."

"And what do you propose we do then?" she hissed. She had learned early during the ride that protesting the pet name would only lead to him becoming more creative and calling her stupid things like _darling_ or _Princess._ "It's your fault, we should have stayed on the highway."

"We wait for sunrise." he suggested. "We're only an hour away. We will be there for breakfast." He threw a dubious glance. "You could use a few hours of sleep anyway, you've been driving for three hours."

She had promised she would be in the Seam at first light. She was so eager to meet her nephew's fiancée… The dear boy would never voice his disappointment naturally but she would know. The idea of letting him down was crushing and she stepped out of the car, feeling the need for some fresh air.

She wasn't expecting Haymitch to step out too.

"What are you doing?" he frowned.

"I need to stretch my legs." She started walking. She wouldn't go far, she decided.

"On a back road at night? You've got a death wish?" he spat. "Come back here before you get yourself killed."

"And who is going to kill me, I wonder?" she retorted. "We're lost in the middle of nowhere thanks to you. I should never have offered you a ride. I should have left you stranded there! You are rude and vulgar and _insufferable!_ "

"Why did you?" he snorted. "I didn't ask you anything."

"Because you looked sad and that made me sad and... _Damn_ me and my stupid compassion." she sighed, and turned her back on him. She wandered closer to the middle of the road and found herself abruptly pulled back closer to the car. She struggled in fear, suddenly _very_ aware that despite the three hours spent together he was very much a stranger.

" _Stop_." he growled, pushing her gently but firmly against the side of the car. "You _don't_ juststand around in the middle of the road. You will get yourself killed."

It was dark but the moon was full and it was enough for her to glimpse the panicked glint in his eyes. His worry was genuine, she realized.

"There is no one on this road, Haymitch." she pointed out. "We haven't seen anyone in ages."

"There's always no one right up until a drunkard comes and hit you with his car." he chuckled darkly.

There was clearly a story behind that statement but his voice was laced with so much pain she didn't dare ask for it.

It occurred to her they were standing way too close to each other for strangers, he was almost pinning her to the car, but she found she didn't mind so much. He smelt like whiskey, cheap soap and faint sweat. It was manly and her mouth watered as her body slowly reacted to his unexpected proximity.

The weird tension shifted to something acutely familiar. He took a hesitant step forward, obliterating the notion of space between them. She instinctively placed a hand on his chest although not quite pushing him away.

"You are rude and vulgar and insufferable." she repeated, in a hopeless attempt to remind herself that it wasn't a good idea. _At_ _all_.

"Got a thing for bad boys, sweetheart?" he mocked.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the car. "Unfortunately yes."

It wasn't just the bad boy vibe, though. He had been pushing all her buttons ever since they met. She couldn't resist a challenge and he was very much a challenge. A challenge with appealing grey eyes…

"Good thing I have a thing for difficult women then." he smirked, brushing his fingers against her jaw.

"I am not difficult." she denied. "I simply have high standards. I know what I want and I stop at nothing to get it."

And to prove just that, she grabbed the lapels of his coat and tugged. Their mouths crashed together, their noses bumped, his stubble scratched her skin, and there were far too many teeth involved but it was strangely perfect in its messiness. Before she understood what was happening, he had her pinned to the car, her legs were wrapped around his waist and she couldn't tell if they were kissing or fighting for control.

His hands were wandering under her clothes, kneading and stroking her flesh in turn, and she was tearing at his coat and shirt, trying to access his skin.

She had just managed to open his shirt and she was down to her bra when the flood of light took her by surprise, making her gasp in alarm. The car that drove past honked joyfully at them and she buried her face in his neck, mortified beyond words.

"You should have asked them for directions, sweetheart." he chuckled.

"Oh, would you stop!" she scowled, whacking his shoulder. "You are truly the most horrid man I have ever had the misfortune to meet! You…" The rest of her sentence was muffled by his mouth. Far from being entirely distracted, she fumbled around for the car door handle and managed to open the door to the backseat. Then she buried her fingers in his hair and tugged firmly enough that he stopped kissing her to look at her, obviously amused by her antics. "Inside the car. _Now_."

"Bossy." he commented.

She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing but he was smirking when he tossed her on the backseat.

Afterwards, they remained there, lying as comfortably as they could in the cramped space. She felt like a ragdoll and couldn't be bothered to get dressed just yet so she settled with her head on his shoulder and the rest of her on his lap. She was probably crushing him but she couldn't bring herself to care. He had thrown his coat on her sometime after her third shiver.

"I'm too old for car sex." he stated after a while. "I'm hurting all over."

He seemed to have developed a strange fixation for her curly hair and kept tugging on strands only to watch them bounce back into place.

"I will move." she offered, very much _not_ moving.

"It's okay." he shrugged "You can sleep a bit, if you want. I will wake you up when there's light."

"Are you sure?" she hummed. "It's been awhile since my last one night stand but I seem to remember in those situations men are not usually fond of cuddling."

"It's been awhile for me too." he admitted. "So _fuck_ the usual protocol."

" _Language_." she chided him.

"You're serious?" he snorted. "I can't say _fuck_? I just licked your…"

Blissfully for her ears, she fell asleep without hearing the rest of his no doubt crude sentence. It felt as if she had just closed her eyes when he shook her awake.

"It's seven a.m." he told her. "I fell asleep."

The day was bright and Effie added another memory to her "walks of shame" list. She hurried to get dressed, taking care not to look his way. He was behaving along the same lines.

It was awkward, oh _so_ painfully awkward…

"Oh, _fuck_." he growled and before she could ask him what he meant by that or rebuke him for his atrocious vocabulary, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. She fell into the kiss with an easiness that puzzled her. "Look." he said. "We had a great time and we're never going to see each other again so there's no point walking on eggshells, yeah?"

His eyes were even more striking in the light of day and she nodded eagerly, not looking forward to an hour ride spent in awkward silence.

There was certainly a tension in the car when they started driving again but it had little to do with either of them being ill-at-ease and more to do with the looks and smiles they kept sharing. They found their way to the Seam but halfway there Haymitch's hand ended up on her thigh, slowly making its way under her skirt and she pulled the car on the side of the road again. It was a good thing they were so deserted because there was no room for mistaking what they were doing when she straddled him.

She was almost disappointed when they finally reached the Seam.

"Where should I drop you off?" she asked. "Where does your not-daughter live?"

"You can leave me here. I will walk." he said. The town wasn't that big and she knew from past experience you could easily walk from one end to another if you had time to spare. She hated wasting time though.

"Are you sure?" she insisted as she pulled over. "It's no trouble at all…"

"It's fine, sweetheart." He waved her offer off. "Thank you for the ride. And… the rest."

His smirk was doing weird things to her belly. It was odd to think she would never see him again because… Well… Fair was fair: the sex had been great.

On impulse, she leaned in and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

"I'm almost glad we missed the plane." she offered.

"Almost?" He lifted his eyebrows, a hand on his heart in mocked hurt.

Then he gave her a real kiss and she had to fight not to suggest they might have time for a third round assuming they could find a motel somewhere.

She forced herself not to look in the rear-view mirror once he was out of the car. She fished her phone from her purse, dialed Peeta and followed his directions to his new house. She didn't have to force herself to sound cheerful exactly but there was a small regret weighting on her nonetheless. Perhaps she should have asked Haymitch's number…

Peeta was waiting on his doorstep and waved at her as soon as he saw her. Forgetting everything about handsome alcoholic strangers and surreal one night stands, she parked the car and lost no time in hugging the boy to the point he had to crack a joke about her smothering him.

"I missed you so much!" she laughed, only then noticing the young woman who had stepped out of the house. She was beautiful. She had fire in her eyes.

"Effie, meet Katniss." he said with a goofy smile.

Katniss didn't have a goofy smile, she sulked and brooded but she was also kind and obviously in love with her nephew. She simply wasn't the overly demonstrative sort and Effie had understood from her many phone calls with Peeta that her family situation wasn't ideal.

So when they were finally settled in the kitchen around a cup of tea, she tried not to judge too quickly even though her manners were less than stellar.

"Katniss' uncle was supposed to come today but he missed his flight." Peeta explained while the girl glared at the phone that hadn't stopped ringing ever since Effie had arrived. "We hoped we would be able to introduce you to Katniss' family before tonight's dinner. Oh, yes, I didn't tell you! We're having an engagement party tonight. Just close family and a few friends. Nothing grand. I just wanted you to meet everyone before the wedding."

She was privately having a silent mini panic attack at what she had packed and what would be suitable for an engagement party but smiled nonetheless.

"There were a lot of problems with planes yesterday." she answered tactfully, hoping to smooth ruffled feathers. "I'm sure your uncle will get another flight…"

"If he cares enough to show up." Katniss grumbled.

The phone finally stopped ringing but the young woman didn't stop glaring.

Of course, a few minutes later, the front door slammed open without any warning and a gruff voice boomed in the house.

"Can't any of you answer your _fucking_ phones?"

Effie startled very badly.

"Don't worry, it's just Haymitch." Peeta told her, misunderstanding the source of her fright. She _knew_ it was just Haymitch, she had recognized his voice but what on earth…

For the first time since Effie had met her, a real smile flashed on Katniss' face and she rushed to the hall.

"I thought I would need to send Johanna get your ass back here." she heard the girl say. There was a pause that she imagined meant they were hugging and then Katniss spoke again. "Come meet Peeta's aunt. She's like his mom so best behavior. I mean it. And she's posh so don't start making fun of her."

Effie wondered if Katniss was aware she could hear everything.

Peeta was smiling in obvious fondness.

She heard the footsteps coming closer and closer and she could only sit there and watch the upcoming train wreck unfold.

Katniss dragged Haymitch in the kitchen by the wrist and declared proudly : "Effie, this is Haymitch."

He registered the name before his eyes fell on her.

The look of shock on his face would have been comical in another context.

She was sure her face was worth a laugh too.

Fate had a funny way to come back and kick you in the ass.


	2. Chapter 2

_The long awaited second part I said I might write ;) This story fitted the third theme of hayffie week: cliché. So… here ;) I hope you enjoy it. It's still crack-ish._

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ …"

Effie kept her on muttering the very same litany she had been ever since Peeta had showed her to her room. The water slammed on her skin but if she had hoped a shower would erase her embarrassment, it wasn't working so far.

What had she been _thinking_?

Offering a ride to a stranger? _Sleeping_ with him ? _Of course_ , it was always going to be a bad idea. She could have been murdered. All things considered, finding out her latest one night stand was the father figure to the woman her nephew was about to marry wasn't the worst case scenario here.

A part of her wondered if she wouldn't have preferred being murdered and buried on the side of the road.

She had kept a poker face in the kitchen earlier, shaking Haymitch's hand and pretending _not_ to know him. He had followed her lead but hadn't been able to resist teasing her at every opportunity. She didn't think the children had noticed anything though. She hoped they hadn't. The last thing she wanted was for Peeta to find out she had slept with a stranger in a rented car. What sort of example would she be setting?

This was a disaster.

A complete disaster.

She tossed her head back, eyes closed, letting the stream of water wash the sleepless night from her face, and pushed her damp hair back.

She heard the click of the door being opened but before she could turn around or panic, an arm was wrapped around her waist, a hand pressed against her mouth to muffle the shriek.

"It's just me. Relax."

Her heartbeat slowly calmed down and she wondered at what point in the last hours his voice had become so familiar. She escaped his arm and turned around, automatically covering herself with her hand and forearm.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

Really, she should have been more outraged at him _assuming_ he would be welcomed to join her in her shower – _stark naked_ – but she was too busy taking everything in. It had been dark the night before and there hadn't been much room for observation that morning. Car sex wasn't made for… _looking_.

And what she had in front of her was certainly appealing.

His shoulders were broad and made her want to run her hands over them, maybe nip a little to test how firm the muscles were. He had no abs to speak off but he was lean and the pale hair on his chest made her mouth water. His arms were strong and so were his thighs. As for the rest… Oh, the rest made her _ache_ for a third round. The rest felt too good buried deep inside her.

"Seriously?" he snorted, apparently amused that she was covering herself. "I've seen everything already."

"That was before." she retorted. The water was trickling down her back but she didn't want to reach out to close the tap. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a house nearby."

That was what Katniss had said anyway.

"Next door." he nodded. "Sneaked back in."

"Why?" she insisted. He lifted an eyebrow, his smirk enough of an answer and she immediately shook her head. "No, no, no. Nothing of that sort will ever happen again. If I had known _who_ you were I would have never…"

"You _do_ know how to flatter a guy's ego, don't you?" he mocked, reaching out to tuck a damp strand behind her ear. "Look… It was all fun, right? And it _was_ fun. You're here for the week-end… Can be fun all week-end… The kids don't need to know about it. We don't have to make a big deal about this."

"You _do_ realize once the children are married we will be _family_." she retorted. "We will see each other often enough. There is no need to make this more awkward than it already is."

"We're having a talk in a shower, sweetheart." he chuckled. "It's _always_ going to be awkward."

She pursed her lips. "Well, you should have waited for me to come out like a decent human being. And _dressed_. Clothes are a key point here. Why aren't you wearing any?"

It was distracting.

And it was even more distracting once he took a step forward and water splashed on him. It wasn't fair. Not fair at all. Effie prided herself on an excellent self-control but it had been _a very long time_ since she had an affair and even longer since she had decent sex. Sex with Haymitch was… very, _very_ good. And being constricted in the car had hindered their moves. The things they could do with more room…

"'Cause I was planning on _fucking_ you right here." he declared, so crude and vulgar she shivered. It turned her on. It shouldn't have but it did.

"Language." she chided him for appearance's sakes.

"You want me to go or to stay?" he asked, his eyes roaming on her, taking in everything he could see. She slowly lowered her arms, letting him get an eyeful.

"It is the last time." she warned him. "The very last time."

"Last time." he agreed distractedly before pouncing on her.

She laughed, it was genuine and it took her aback because she was used to faking laughs. It soon turned to moans though.

She was right.

With more space, they were not just great they were _amazing_.

She could have grown used to having shower sex with Haymitch.

They lingered under the spray long after they were done. She briefly wondered if there was a water balloon and if she had just emptied it. They kissed and touched. Now that they had rode the frenzy, it was mostly innocent, almost exploratory… She lost herself in it, tilting her head when he brushed her hair aside to licked the water trickling down her neck, and grinning from ear to ear at his groan when she kneaded his butt cheek.

The knock on the bathroom door made her jump and she didn't exactly know how to feel when his instinctive reaction faced with the startling noise and her obvious fright was to push her behind him.

"Effie?" Peeta called from the other side of the door. "You've been in there forever. Did you fall asleep?"

There was a tinge of worry underneath the amusement.

"I will be downstairs in a moment!" she replied. "I am afraid I did doze off a bit."

"Lunch is almost ready." her nephew told her. "Katniss has gone to fetch Haymitch."

" _Great_." Haymitch grumbled, reaching out for one of the towels on the rack.

"I'll be right here." she repeated for Peeta's sake, catching the towel Haymitch tossed at her and wrapping it around her chest.

He got dressed quickly – in the very same clothes he had been wearing all night – and rubbed his wet hair before dropping the towel in the sink. Then he planted a kiss on her lips. "I'll catch you later."

"No, you won't." she retorted firmly. "This was the last time."

His grey eyes were sparkling in obvious amusement. "If you say so, sweetheart."

"I say so." she stated.

Lunch was a disaster.

He seemed to be very good at sneaking in and out because the children didn't suspect anything. The food was simple but good and for a while, she focused on Katniss and try to get to know her better. The girl wasn't very open though and she was starting to be discouraged when Peeta whispered to her, in the kitchen, away from Katniss' and Haymitch's ears, that she had lost her sister a few years earlier, that her mother was mostly out of the picture because of this and that Haymitch hadn't had much more luck in life. Peeta didn't tell her to drop her inquiries but she was smart enough to get the hint, she turned her questions to Katniss' archery skills instead.

It wasn't long before Haymitch grew bored though.

"How was your shower, sweetheart?" he asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Peeta and Katniss exchanged a puzzled glance.

For her part, she glared.

The smug smirk and the knowing spark in his eyes made her annoyed though. Two could play that game after all.

"Hot." she deadpanned.

"Yeah?" he chuckled. "Helped you unwind some? You must be tired after that long night…"

She glared harder, stabbing a tomato with her fork. "It would take much more than _that_ to tire me out."

"Week-end's not over yet." he challenged, licking his lips.

"Do you want some more salad?" Katniss cut in, tossing her uncle a dark look.

It didn't discourage him of throwing various innuendos around. Effie took great pleasure in keeping her features schooled and deadpanning at every turn.

She pretended she didn't enjoy the bantering as much as she really did.

She heard Katniss muttering several times to Haymitch to _shut it_ and it made her smile although she felt a little guilty about it because Katniss was obviously a little nervous about meeting her.

She spent most of the afternoon catching up with Peeta. It was good to see her nephew. They talked on the phone every week but… It wasn't the same as seeing him in person.

It was lucky she never went anywhere without a cocktail dress because she would have otherwise been forced to attend the party in everyday wear. She couldn't help pouting at her reflection in the mirror though, not quite happy with it. If she had known there was going to be a party, she would have brought a better dress. This red one was classic and it wasn't her favorite. Her chest looked too flat and her stomach, on the other hand, didn't.

There were already guests in the living-room when she wandered downstairs and she realized, belatedly, that she and Peeta didn't have the same definition of _party_. People were wearing jeans and she was clearly overdressed.

"Red looks good on you." Haymitch murmured in her ear on his way to the table covered with bottles of liquor. His hand briefly rested at the small of her back and drifted lower when he left.

She chose to pretend nothing had happened and helped Peeta make sure everyone had drinks and food. There were a lot of people and a lot of names to remember. Johanna, Beetee, Finnick, Annie… The whole town seemed to be there. She smiled and nodded and exchanged pleasantries…

"Nice ass." a man commented as she was placing a tray full of freshly baked cupcakes on a table.

She glanced at him. He was standing with Haymitch, far enough that she supposed she wasn't meant to hear. He was missing a hand and was not wearing a prosthesis or trying to hide it. She went back to arranging the cupcake, pricking her ears. Whatever Haymitch answered, it was too low for her to catch.

"Well, if you're not going for it, I am." the man laughed.

"No, you're _not_." Haymitch growled.

"Oh, you tapped it already?" his friend asked, apparently amused. "Quick job, you did. She's been here what? Six hours? What's she like? Tiger or vanilla?"

She pursed her lips and pretended to be entirely focused on the cupcakes, awaiting the unavoidable crude answer Haymitch would give. Men were peacocks. They liked to preen. No matter how disparaging it was for the women involved.

" _Shut up_." Haymitch snarled, surprising her. "Don't make her sound like a slut. Didn't happen like that."

"You _like_ her." the man answered and it sounded almost awed to her ears, like it was a miracle Haymitch could actually _like_ anyone.

It took a few seconds for Haymitch to answer and she could feel his eyes burning a hole in her neck. "She's something else, that girl."

She made a hasty exit toward another group of people. His eyes followed her. She felt them on her _all night_. Every time she glanced in his direction he was staring at her legs or her ass or her chest. When their gaze met, he either winked or smirked.

Despite her reserves about the dress, the way he looked at her made her feel _hot_.

She started flashing him a little cleavage when she bent to grab a glass on the coffee table. She brushed against him on purpose when she walked around. She flashed him slow cocky smiles from the other side of the room.

It affected him.

It was obvious.

But he never once made a move on her.

Half the people were gone by the time she cornered him in the kitchen.

"One would think you do not know how to take a hint." she observed, trailing her hand on the back of the chairs and on the table as she walked closer to him, a predatory spring in her steps.

He was leaning against the counter, a half full glass of whiskey in his hand, a smirk on his lips. "You said this morning was the last time. I listened."

"You are not the sort of men who listen when they want a woman." she huffed, pouting a little. "Don't you want me anymore?"

"Coy is so _not_ your style." he snorted.

"What _is_ my style?" she challenged.

"Dangerous temptress." he answered at once, without missing a beat.

It was her turn to chuckle. "Well… The dangerous temptress I am is going to tell the children she is retiring for the night. I will be on my bed. _Naked_. Feel free to join."

She was being bolder than she usually was with men she had just met – never mind _never_ _dated –_ but it was _thrilling_ nonetheless.

At least until she found herself actually naked on her bed, in a sexy position that wasn't comfortable, waiting for the door to open.

She waited fifteen minutes.

Then she angrily wrapped her silk dressing gown around herself and told herself she was _stupid_. She had been acting like a fool for twenty-four hours. How was she supposed to face Haymitch the next day? Never mind for the rest of her life? There would be the children's wedding and family events after that and…

She flushed crimson.

She was an idiot.

She was so busy berating herself she almost didn't hear the door handle turning. She did hear the lock falling into place though.

"What happened to being naked on the bed?" Haymitch teased.

"I grew bored of it ten minutes ago." she snapped, turning her back on him to draw the curtains close. "Goodnight."

"Katniss wouldn't let me go." he grumbled, wrapping his arms around her, pressing his chest to her back. "I did as fast as I could. You're a _bitchy_ person, sweetheart. Anyone ever told you that?"

"Oh, as if you were so _delightful_ yourself." she hissed.

He smirked and _damn_ his smirk.

"Good thing you like bad boys, right?" he mocked.

"Good thing you like difficult women." she taunted right back.

And then they were kissing again.

She quickly decided having sex with Haymitch in a bed was even better than the car or the shower. It was more comfortable at any rate.

She expected him to sneak out as soon as they were done but he seemed to be just as exhausted as she was – and with good reasons, they hadn't slept much the previous night – because he remained where he was, legs tangled with hers, arms firmly locked around her.

She didn't realize she was falling asleep until it was too late.

She woke up to irritated groans and it took her a few minutes to realize Haymitch was making the noises in his sleep and that it was more than probably a reaction to the loud hammering taking place outside. She didn't know what the children were doing but _really_ they should have done it a little more quietly.

She hummed and buried further into his warmth, breathing him in. He smelt like faint whiskey, sweat and sleep. She liked it.

"What _the fuck_ are they doing?" he mumbled against her hair.

"Don't know." she slurred, still half asleep, nuzzling his throat with her nose.

It wasn't until she heard a key being wedged into place and the loud clink of the lock being turned that she realized what was going on.

The hammering had actually been _knocks_ and by the time her brain woke up enough to tell her _to_ _scream for them to stop_ , the door was open and the children were standing there, gaping.

"What _the_ _fuck_!" Haymitch shouted, quickly drawing the sheets up to cover them both properly. Effie lost no time in wrapping it around her chest. Too late though if Peeta's peeved expression was to be believed. "Can't you _fucking_ knock?"

Katniss didn't look impressed. "We've been knocking for twenty minutes. It's two p.m. We were worried Effie had gone into a coma or something."

"Oh." she winced, glancing at the clock. _How on Earth_ had they slept so long? "I am fine."

"Clearly." the girl scoffed, her grey eyes darting from her to her uncle.

"This is _so_ embarrassing." she muttered.

"You think?" Peeta cringed, looking red in the face. "How did _this_ even happen?"

"You want me to draw you a picture?" Haymitch snapped.

"I mean you weren't drunk." her nephew groaned. "Neither of you. How…"

"Are you saying a man should be drunk to want to sleep with me?" Effie frowned, patting her hair self-consciously. "I can assure you…"

"Don't _assure_ me anything. I don't want to know." Peeta cut her off, rubbing his face.

"I told you to be on your best behavior with her." Katniss scowled, clearly exasperated. "I told you…"

"I _was_ on my best behavior. Heard no complaining from her." Haymitch interrupted. "Made sure she came first and everything. Got any complaint, sweetheart?"

"Haymitch!" she gasped in horror, whacking his chest.

"Oh god, this is _the worst_." Peeta mumbled.

"Then maybe _fuck off_." Haymitch growled. "She's not dead. I'm not dead. Get _the_ _fuck_ out and next time wait for us to tell you it's okay to come in."

"It's our house!" Katniss exclaimed.

"Well next time I'll take her to mine!" he shouted back. "Out. _Now_."

The children scampered away and closed the door behind them, leaving Effie to flop on her back in the bed, her hands pressed against her face, absolutely mortified. Peeta had a point, this _was_ the worst.

"Next time?" she asked anyway, from behind her hands.

She felt him shrug.

"If you want to." he grumbled, settling back down next to her.

She dropped her hands and studied him. "I would love to."

She was rather glad they had missed that plane after all. Maybe it had been meant to happen this way.

Maybe fate wasn't such a fickle thing after all.


End file.
